Where there is no need to screen local justice: Law and film in Israel

This chapter describes the minor representation of law in Israeli feature films and demonstrates it by pointing at various films that deal with issues that pertain directly to legal proceedings or legal matters, yet bear merely marginal reference to the legal domain, or avoid it altogether. Possible explications for the relative absence of law in Israeli cinema will be reviewed. One is the Israeli legal tradition, which refrains from visualizing justice. The other draws from the differences between Israeli and American cultures and the dissimilar perceptions of lawyers and their role in society, as well as the differences in legal procedure. The chapter concludes by suggesting that the current scarcity of legal representation in Israeli feature films is a meaningful signifier in the Israeli societal context. The lack of interest in law in Israeli films, compared with the central function of law in Israeli life, might reflect a gap between the ardent legal rhetoric of Israeli courts and the perception of the public, who views law mostly as an instrumental option of providing practical answers to specific cases.